People, Locations, Episodes

Morris Brown College is Founded

*Morris Brown College in Atlanta was founded on this date, 1885. It is among over 100 Historically Black Colleges and Universities in America (HBCUs).

On January 5, 1881, during the North Georgia Annual Conference at Big Bethel, John Gaines introduced a resolution calling for the establishment in Atlanta of an institution for the moral, spiritual, and intellectual growth of Negro boys and girls. The African Methodist Episcopal Church founded Morris Brown College.  It is a private, coeducational, liberal arts college engaged in teaching and public service with a special focus on leadership, management, entrepreneurship, and technology.

The College is proud of its tradition of serving the educational needs of the best and brightest young minds while providing educational support to students who might otherwise be unable to compete on the college level. Students fitting the latter category are given the tools they need to increase their potential for earning a college degree. The college is named after the minister and abolitionist Morris Brown.

This is a formula that has proven itself to be resilient. Among their outstanding alumni are Isaac Blythers, former President of Atlanta Gas Light Company; Eula L. Adams, Executive Vice President for First Data Corporation; Albert J. Edmonds, Retired Lieutenant General of the United States Air Forces; the late Reverend Dr. Hosea Williams, civil rights leader; Thomas J. Byrd, actor of television, film, and stage; and Pulitzer Prize-winning author, James A. McPherson. Fortune Magazine cited Adams and Edmonds recently among the nation’s top African American corporate executives. The list of graduates and their accolades goes on and on.

Morris Brown College now stands as a thriving institution, fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, with majors offered in more than 30 areas of study, including Business Sciences, Computer Science, Chemistry, Biology, and Hospitality Administration. The College’s current President is Kevin James, Ph.D. As an academic institute grounded in excellence and tradition, Morris Brown College Prepares and promotes students destined for a lifetime of learning and achievement in a global society. Morris Brown College is committed to academic excellence through advancing knowledge.

The College seeks to provide higher education opportunities based on Christian principles at the undergraduate level, enabling students to become dynamic leaders, managers, and entrepreneurs in a global, culturally diverse, and technologically advanced world characterized by rapid change and complex independence.  Some of its notable alumni include James McPherson, David Levering Lewis, and others.